Kirigakure (Njalm)
Kirigakure (霧隠れの里, Kirigakure no Sato; Literally meaning "Village Hidden by Mist"), infamously known as the "Village of the Bloody Mist" (血霧の里, Chigiri no Sato), is the shinobi village located in the Land of Water. Kirigakure, unlike most of the other great shinobi villages has flourished in the wake of the fourth great Shinobi world war. Having expanded greatly over the thirty years since the wars end. Today. Kirigakure encompasses six entire islands which are connected by ferries and large bridges, and it is estimated that modern day Kirigakure is around three times the size of what it once was. In Kirigakure, hiden techniques are exalted as the product of great tradition and perseverance, whereas Kekkei Genkai users are often forced to flee the village for fear of their lives, as the current Mizukage, a former bandit leader known as Fuyuki, possesses an immense amount of hatred for bloodline limits. Considering each Kekkei Genkai user to be little more than a demon, and that by killing these fiends, he and those who would stand with him are cleansing the world of an unholy taint. The villages only flaw is that it does not currently possess a Tailed Beast. Leaving it at a significant disadvantage despite how well-developed it is. The in particular is reviled as a tool of ultimate evil, and anyone bringing a pair of Sharingan (preferably still attached to the Uchiha's dismembered head) to the Mizukage residence can claim a bounty of as much as 100,000 ¥. Strangely, the hatred does not concern those whom aren't born with their powers, and while those whom might've had these talents implanted in them are regarded as strange and shunned by most of society, they can still live a fulfilling life and continue living as Shinobi nonetheless. Because even if they have children, they cannot pass on the "curse" to them. Kirigakure also assumes that for someone to get these Kekkei Genkai implanted in the first place, the death of the original wielder is a necessity, therefore making the transplantion a proof of past heroics. Expanding on how hiden are viewed in high esteem, most of the clans of Kirigakure that possesses hiden techniques of renown are considered to be nothing short of nobility, being part of the upper-crust of society and being rewarded great riches so that they can continue to research their hiden techniques and develop them in the best manner possible. As the oldest of these clans, the illustrious , as one of the oldest and most successful of these lineages is especially prestigious. With the clan having a large castle off the coast of the third island, where they command immense influence. With the clan head possessing enough political power to potentially challenge even the Mizukage himself. Though such a thing is extremely unlikely given the long-lasting kinship between the Mizukage and the Hōzuki. Defensive Barriers Kirigakure Ninja Academy The Ninja Academy of the Hidden Mist is situated in an old castle at the feet of several mountains somewhere close to Akakabuto's southern coast. It is sheltered between two gargantuan rock formations which makes it difficult to spot. The castle is enormous, having once belonged to the Water Daimyō of four centuries past. The Daimyō was a feared woman, whose immense ambition and ruthless treatment of her enemies and allies alike gave her a reputation as a diabolic warlord. The woman wished to advance her influence far beyond the Land of Water, and accomplished this by using her immense resources to hire shinobi from all over the world, since this was before the formation of the ninja villages, she hired shinobi from the clans instead, and accented the shinobi with ordinary soldiers and weapons of war. According to the stories, she came as far as the land of wind before she was stopped and publically executed. The castle courtyard; a massive expanse of land which also doubles as the official training areas for Kirigakure shinobi, is surrounded by huge stone walls. The only way to get past these walls is to use the primary gate, situated directly in front of the castle at a few kilometers distance. The gates are composed of solid stone reinforced by Ninjutsu, the entire construct weighing roughly ten tons, and thus impossible for any ordinary person to open. It is controlled mechanically from two large watch towers on either side of it. Skilled shinobi can get past it with ease however. When new recruits for the academy are found, they're escorted inside the courtyard and the gates close behind them, locking them inside until they're good enough to leave on their own. This is done to ensure that the students don't escape until their training is complete. Although many still try, with most not expecting the extraordinarily intense training regiments and high expectations made of them. Because of this, the Dragon God Academy, as is it's official name, has garnered a reputation for being only marginally more humane than the previous tradition of pitting graduates against one another. Despite the requirements however, and despite how many students die within the Academy each year, the Academy still has an immense number of recruits. This is because the students are not expected to attend for free, and there is much money to be had from entering. This allows those whom enter to feed their families and allow they themselves to live comfortably as well. as the academy has it's own lounges and wings where the students are allowed to live. With each room being very comfortable and with meals being provided every single day. Most students aren't children, as the tasks expected are often too hard for children to accomplish, with the average age of first year students being roughly 16-18 years of age, the Academy is composed of seven years, meaning that the average graduatee is 23-25 years old. Even before entering the Academy, future students are encouraged to work their bodies to the bone before applying, in order to increase their chances of succeeding and survival. This has been successful, and most do in fact survive to become formidable shinobi as a result. Each study day is composed of roughly twelve full hours of lessons, with the lessons being spread out evenly across the day so as to allow plenty of oppurtunity for rest despite their intensity. There are many types of classes in the Dragon God Academy, including the core curriculum of reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography and others. All of these are framed in a ninja-context, and they're only taught at all to aid the students when they become shinobi. However, the rest of the subjects focus directly on refining the students personal abilities, which is the prime focus of the Dragon God Academy. The primary classes are as follows. Taijutsu: In these classes, the students are trained with various weaponry, including typical shinobi tools like Kunai and Shuriken. But also rarer forms of weaponry unique to Kirigakure, or the students own clan, if applicable. The students are also taught a wide variety of hand-to-hand combat techniques and heated sparring matches are highly common. Once a month, a student will be pitted against another student to engage in a serious battle with them, this is brutal business and often ends in rather serious injuries. Death is very rare, but it does happen occasionally. Though it's never formally a duel to the death, as even Kirigakure is loath to waste resources. The type of Taijutsu taught at the Dragon God Academy is a collection of hard style martial arts, which are adopted for shinobi warfare and combat, and the students are taught lethal and non-lethal techniques alike. Mist Taijutsu is direct and brutal, intended to cripple opponents by breaking bones and damaging organs through collateral force. For this reason, strength and endurance training is also an important part of the curriculum. Students are also informed of human anatomy in this class, as well as each of the eight points of death. Kenjutsu: As expected of Kirigakure's premier Academy, the Dragon God Academy has specialized Kenjutsu classes, which are headed by extremely talented swordsmen. These swordsmen proceed to teach the students how to properly wield a katana, in order to increase their overall prowess in close combat. In these classes, sparring is also very common, as is serious combat situations. Even while practicing the blades used are still as sharp as ever, and serious and even life-threatening injuries occurs quite commonly. This danger forces the students to practice their swordplay at all times, even in their spare time, ensuring that their skills become as refined as at all possible. It is in these classes that the students are taught the . Oftentimes, lesser criminals caught in town are brought to the Dragon God Academy where they're released into the courtyard to be killed using this exact technique, the student who first tracks down and kills the target is awarded a substantial reward for their trouble. This test has two purposes, to test the student's prowess with Silent Killing, but also to eliminate their feelings of compassion, turning them into the killers they need to be. General Ninjutsu: The General Ninjutsu classes are fairly numerous, and this is where the students learn how to properly mold and utilize chakra, it also includes several exercises intended to improve the students mastery of chakra flow, chakra control, as well as helping them develop and expand their natural chakra reserves, so as to allow them to perform more advanced techniques. This is also where the students are taught the most basic of Ninjutsu. Including the Body Replacement Technique, the Clone Technique and the Body Flicker Technique. The Kirigakure variant to the latter technique incorporates mist into the technique in order to make it seem as if the user disperses into mist and reforms at the chosen location, disguising the high-speed movement masterfully, while often confusing the unwary to believe they've been caught in a genjutsu. The later year students also learn how to perform the Generic Sealing Technique as well. Once these techniques have been learned, the classes often include practicing them to the degree that they can be used with minimal effort, as well as further working on improving and developing their chakra, and their use of it. All in the preparation for the more advanced Ninjutsu classes introduced later. General Ninjutsu classes are taken from the first grade up til the fifth grade of the academy. Elemental Ninjutsu: This is what replaces the General Ninjutsu classes in the later grades, starting at 5th grade of the academy. At this point, most of the students possesses remarkably developed chakra, which is typically greater than students of other academies in other nations. Due to the higher focus on that development, but also due to the greater maturity of the students on average. The first technique students learn in these classes, is the iconic Hiding in Mist Technique. This technique requires a degree of water-natured chakra to perform and therefore it is considerably more advanced than any of the basic Ninjutsu taught in the general classes. Most students have great difficulties with it's use, and need to train rigorously to employ it effectively, to make matters worse, it must be employed at the graduation exams with near-perfection. The students are also taught much more in regards to Nature Transformation, with the last grade students being taught one C-ranked water release technique of their choice to show together with the Hiding in Mist technique at their graduation day. The technique most often chosen for this test is the Water Clone Technique, which is chosen because it bases itself on something the students learned before, making it easier to learn compared to the remaining alternatives of the Water Prison Technique and the Water Release: Wild Water Wave. At the final exams, a nearby water source is always provided, because otherwise, only the most exceptional of the students would be capable of using the water Ninjutsu to a satisfying degree. Shinobi Theory: These classes are among the more boring and uneventful classes, but they're entirely necessary to attend. What students learn in the Shinobi Theory classes are important pieces of intelligence pertaining to the various clans and hidens of Kirigakure itself, including the names of a wide variety of high-ranking techniques. However, the most important part of this class is to inform the students about the clans, hidens and bloodline limits of the other villages. They're trained in the history of these clans and techniques, and are taught how to identify a member by their appearance, behavior and naturally, their jutsu. The students are then taught the drawback and known limitations of all of these techniques, before they finally learn how to deduce their weakness. The weaknesses of known bloodlines and hidens are typically revealed here, and sometimes the instructors uses genjutsu to pit the students against an imaginary opponent of a particular hiden, such as an imaginary member of the Aburame clan, for instance. The instructors relying on experience to make the fight as realistic as possible. Among other things, students are made to research their techniques with great care in these lessons, and a fair bit of them concern self-improvement. Finally, this is the class where the students learn of the 12 main hand seals, and is one of the many classes in which they practice weaving hand seals as quickly as possible. Genjutsu: The Genjutsu classes are somewhat infrequent and are often quite short. Unlike the other classes, the genjutsu classes don't teach the students how to perform any actual genjutsu, as such an art is too delicate and elaborate for most academy students to perform, no matter the case. But they do learn how to recognize it's effect and then break out of it. Failing that, they learn how to endure the psychological trauma inflicted, by having the students put under a genjutsu designed to torture them into submission, a common tactic of genjutsu users in actual combat. Therefore, raising the students mental endurance. They're also taught the difference between generic and specified genjutsu. As well as the mechanics and specifics of particular well-known genjutsu techniques often used by enemy shinobi. Espionage & Infiltration: The Espionage & Infiltration classes teach students about the culture of various nations and hidden villages, in an effort to make it much easier for the students to blend in. This is done in preparation for the inevitable infiltration and espionage missions many shinobi are made to undertake throughout their careers. In these classes, students learn important assassination techniques, knowledge of various poisons and how to talk to others in ways which might help them blend in. Furthermore, they also learn how to seduce others using either their masculine or feminine wiles, with the students being taught that their bodies are as much of a tool as any kunai or shuriken. They're also taught the art of floriography and flower arranging in order to convey secret messages. These classes are taken from first through seventh grade in the academy and are tested at the final exam. Advantages Clans *' ' (One of the Four Noble Clans of Kirigakure) -- *'Yorae Clan' (One of the Four Noble Clans of Kirigakure) -- Niten Ichi Ryuu: Gorin no Taisei *'Ketsuekigasu Clan' (One of the Four Noble Clans of Kirigakure) -- Yūdoku Ketsueki *' ' (One of the Four Noble Clans of Kirigakure) -- Military Organizations Affiliations Members *'Fuyuki' (Mizukage) *'Minoru Riso' *'Karasuba Musubi' *'Hyōkan Fusa' *'Ayako Gozen' *'Tengu Kite' *'Enen' *'Kurenai Ketsuekigasu' *'Kawakami Uzumaki'